that has emerged in many congressional districts in pennsylvania and throughout the country as the leading issue for a number of democratic candidates, particularly when a -- when they are challenging republican incumbents. so the other issues seem to have gone into secondary importance. immigration is perhaps the only exception. -- president trump: thank you very much, everyone read i appreciate it. and good afternoon. i would like to provide an update to the american people regarding the crisis on our southern border, and crisis it is. illegal immigration affects the lives of all americans. hurtsl immigration american workers, burdens american taxpayers and undermines public safety, and local enormous strain on schools, hospitals, and

takingties in general, precious resources away from the poorest americans who need them most. illegal immigration costs our countries billions and billions of dollars each year. america is a welcoming country, and under my leadership it is a welcoming country. we lead the world in humanitarian protection and assistance by far. there is nobody even close. we have the largest and most expensive immigration programs anywhere on the planet. we have issued 40 million green which means1970, permanent residency and a path to citizenship for many, many people. but we will not allow our generosity to be abused by those who would break our laws, defied our rules,-- defy break into borders,

our country illegally. we won't allow it. mass immigration is unfair to the law-abiding immigrants already living here, who followed the rules and waited their turn. some have been waiting for many years. some have been waiting for a long time. they have done everything perfectly, and they are going to come in, at some point they are going to come in, in many cases very soon read we need them to come in because we have companies coming into our country, they need workers, but they have to come in on a merit basis, and it will come in on a merit basis. communities are often left to bear the cost of the influx of people who come in illegally. we can't allow that. there is a limit to how many people a nation can responsibly absorb into their societies. oury day, above and beyond existing, lawful immigration programs, roughly 1500 to 2000 people try crossing our borders

illegally. we do a very good job, considering the laws are so bad. are not archaic, they are incompetent. it is not that they are old, they are just bad. democratn't get any votes to change them. it is only the republicans that are in unison, they want to change them, they want to make strong borders, want to get rid of any crime because of the borders, of which there is a lot , and we have done a great job with the laws that we have. we are moving in tremendous numbers of people to get out the ms 13 gangs and other gangs that illegally come into our country, and we are getting them out by the thousands. perilousis a situation, and it threatens to become even more hazardous as our economy gets better and better. a lot of the cause of this problem is the fact that right now we have the hottest economy

anywhere in the world. it is doing better than any economy in the world. jobs, unemployment, you look at any number. right now we have more workers than at any time in the history of our country, we have more people working, which is a tremendous statement, more people working then at any time in the history of our country. and people want to come in, and in some cases they want to take advantage of that. and that's ok. we want them to come in, but they have to come in through merit, they have to come in legally. at this very moment, large, well-organized caravans of migrants are marching toward our southern border. some people call it an invasion. it's like an invasion. they have violently overrun the mexican border. we saw that two days ago. many are tough people in cases, a lot of young men, strong man, and a lot of men that maybe we don't want in our country, but again we will find that out through the legal process. but they have overrun the

mexican police and they have overrun and hurt badly mexican soldiers. so this is not an innocent group of people. it's a large number of people that are tough. they haveinjured, attacked, and the mexican police and military has actually suffered. appreciate what mexico is trying to do. let me begin by saying these illegal caravans will not be allowed into the united states, and they should turn back now because they are wasting their time. come intod apply to our country. we want them to come into our country very much. we need people to help us with all of these companies that are coming in. we've never had anything like this. we have car companies coming in, foxconn so involved with the manufacturing of apple products coming in wisconsin, we have a

lot of companies coming in. they have to apply and they have to be wonderful people. they are going to love our country and work hard. and we have already dispatched to the border united states military, and they will do the job. they are setting up right now and they are preparing. we hope nothing happens but if it does, we are totally prepared, greatest military anywhere in the world, and is now in great shape, no longer depleted when i took over as the president of the united states. the government of mexico has generously offered asylum, jobs, education and medical care for butle within the caravan, many members of the caravan have refused of these migrants are not legitimate asylum seekers. for are not looking protection, because if they were they would be able to get it from mexico. mexico has agreed to take them

them to stay.aged but they don't want to stay. they want to come in to the united states, so this is no longer safety, and asylum is about safety. asylum is not a program for those living in poverty. there are millions of people in the world living at the poverty level. the united states cannot possibly absorb them all. asylum is a very special protection, intended only for those fleeing government persecution aced on race, religion and other protected status. it illegalans and migrants are drawn to our country by democrat-backed laws and left-wing judicial rulings. we are getting rulings that are so ridiculous, so bad, that writing the laws, you can't do that, collectively known as an example, catch and release. it's a disgrace that we have to

put up with, that these policies release the illegal aliens into our communities after they have been apprehended. but we are not releasing anymore. big change, as of a couple of days ago. no longerng to release. we are going to catch. we are not going to release. they are going to stay with us until the deportation hearing or .he asylum hearing takes place so we are not releasing them into the community. we have no use people that over the years have been released into the community, they never show up at the trials, they never come back, they are never seen again, and those people, and we knowey are, a lot of where they are, who they are, and those people will be deported, directly deported. the biggest loophole drawing illegal aliens to our borders is the use of fraudulent or asylum claims

to gain entry into our great country. an alien simply crosses the border illegally, finds a border patrol agent, and using well coached language from lawyers and others, stand there and try to get fees and whatever they can get. they are given a phrase to read. they have never heard the phrase before, they don't believe the phrase, but they are given a little legal statement to read, and they read it. and now all of a sudden they are supposed to qualify, but that's not the reason they are here. this merely asserts the need for and then, often released into the united states, and they await a lengthy court ross, the court process will take years sometimes for them -- court process willcourt take years sometimes for them. well, we are not releasing them any longer.

we are putting up massive cities of tents. the military is helping us incredibly well. i want to thank the army corps of engineers, they have been so efficient, so good, so talented. we have thousands of tents, we have a lot of everything. we are going to hold them right there. we are not letting them into our country, and then they never show up almost. it's like a level of 3%, they never show up for the trial. so by the time their trial comes, they are gone. nobody knows where they are. but we know where a lot of them are. and they are going to be deported. there are now 700,000 aliens inside the united states awaiting adjudication of the claims. most of these people, we have no idea how they got there, why they got there, if you look at a minimal member

it is the size of vermont or bigger. be 10erall number could billion people, 12 billion people, 20 million people. the record-keeping from passive ministrations has not exactly been good. as human smugglers and traffickers have learned how to gain -- the game is played and how to game the system, we have witnessed a staggering 1700 increase in asylum claims since the year 2010. they understand the law better than the lawyers. you have a lot of professionalism there, involved with setting up the caravans. take a look at the way it is happening. look at how your is and el salvador. look at what is happening at the different levels and countries or what is happening on the streets.

a lot of professionalism is taking place. lot of money passing. all of a sudden, out of the blue, big caravans are formed and that they start marching up. they have a long way to go. one average, once released, and asylum case takes three in the half years to complete. somebody walks into a country, reads a statement given by a ander, and we have a three court case for one person, .hereas others tell them it out other countries, get out. we have a border, get out. we go through years and years of litigation because of the democrats and incompetent and stupid laws we have. stock all laughing over the world, including the bold marching up. we are not allowing the men. and we are not releasing and we are not doing any of the things that were done for so many years

that really are terrible for our country. the overwhelming majority of claims are rejected by the by that time, the alien is it usually disappeared into our country. they never get to see the judge, never have a rolling. because theyare are in the country and nobody knows where they are. onee are approximately million aliens who have received final orders of removal. they have been orders of remover. the courts have already issued the orders of removal and we have gotten a lot of them. they remain at large in the country. we are moving them out. this endemic abuse of the asylum system makes a mockery of our immigration system, displacing legitimate asylum-seekers. there are legitimate

asylum-seekers. and rewarding those who abuse or defraud our system. which is almost everybody. everybody is abusing it. systeming things to our which are unthinkable, i'm sure, even by the democrats who are largely responsible. these individuals disrespect the foundations of american government by voluntarily choosing to break the law as at their first act on american soil. furthermore, contained within the flow of illegal migration to our southwest border is that the movement of illicit and deadly narcotics. the southwest. nearly 100% of heroine in the u.s. enters through the southern border. heroine comes in

through the southern border, along with roughly 90% of cocaine and the majority of methamphetamines and a substantial portion of the altar killing ournyl youth. fentanyl is killing our youth. these drugs destroy the lives and kill much more than 70,000 americans every year and the number goes up and up and up because we are so foolish with our laws that we allow this to happen. of theth toll equivalent size of an entire american city every year. the current influx, -- threatens to overwhelm the immigration system and communities and poses unacceptable dangers to the entire nation. we have to have our borders. we cannot let drugs come in. not just people, drugs, human

traffickers. human trafficking is at the highest level in the world that it has ever been because of the internet. human trafficking. think back to hundred years. human trafficking. they steal children and women, unfortunately. they still women. human traffickers. they are the lowest scum on earth. it is at a level it has never been worldwide. if these caravans are allowed biggerr country, only and more emboldened caravans will follow. that is what is happening now. we have one coming up and it is being dissipated as a march but other people are joining it and then it gets bigger. doris andk back at on el salvador, other ones are

forming. are new ones forming. we call it caravan number two, unbelievably letter -- rough very hard for the military to stop it. our military will have no problem. mexico is having a hard time with it. once they arrive, the democrat party's vision is to offer them free health care, free welfare, free education, and the right to vote. you and the hard-working taxpayers of our country will be .sked to pick up the entire top that is what is happening. medical and they have big medical problems before they get here. no nation can allow itself to be overwhelmed by uncontrolled masses of people rushing the border. that is what is happening. they are rushing our border,

even before you get to the caravan, on a daily basis, people coming in. it is a very bad thing for our country. it is sad in many ways. us billions and billions and billions of dollars a year. i will take every lawful action at my disposal to address this crisis. that is what we are doing. my administration is finalizing a plan to end the rampant abuse of our asylum system. it is abused. to all of the dangerous influx and establish control over america's sovereign borders. once the control is set and standardized and made strong, including the building of the wall, which we have already billion spent last

year and 1.6 billion this year. will be coming. we want to build it at one time. it turns people in a different direction. this plan, illegal aliens will no longer get a free pass into the country by lodging meritless claims in seeking asylum. migrants seeking asylum will have to present themselves lawfully at a port of entry. they are going to have to lawfully present themselves at a port of entry. those who choose to break the will no enter illegally longer be able to use meritless claims to gain automatic admission into our country. we will hold them for a long time, if necessary. the only long-term said -- only way to the ensure the endurance of her nation as a sovereign country is for congress to overcome open

borders obstruction. it is open borders obstruction. no votes. up with the greatest border plan, greatest immigration plan but you will not get one vote from a democrat. they have terrible policy. in many cases, terrible politicians. forve them great credit blow -- voting as a block, they stick together. we will and catch and release. we are not releasing any longer. we must finish the jobs we started by being strong at the border. when we are strong at the border, people will turn away and they will not bother. a year from now or a. timeme for -- period of from now, despite our good economy, which some of them come for, they have to do it legally,

you will see the numbers of people trying to get and will be greatly reduced but that can only happen if we are strong at the border and the southern border is a big problem, a tremendous problem for drugs pouring in and destroying our youth and destroying the fabric of our country. there has never been a drug problem likely have today. of it comes from the southern border. for saidantime, i will -- the film i sacred obligation to defend the u.s. and this is a defense of our country. we have no choice. we will defend our borders. we will defend our country. thank you very much. what happens to the children? >> we are working on a system where they stay together. in tremendous

numbers, under the obama plan, you could separate children. nobody talks about that. under president obama, they separated children from the parents. we put it so that didn't happen. what happens when you do that if -- is you get tremendous amounts of people coming. it is like an incentive, when they hear they will not be separated, they come many times .ver president obama separated the children and nobody complained. when we continued the same law, the country went crazy. and tryoing to continue to continue what we are doing. tremendous incentive for people to try. it is going to be hard for people to come into the country. we think we ably able to do that -- will be able. >> [indiscernible] >> i hope not. i hope there won't be.

anybody throwing stones, rocks, like they did to the mexican military. police and soldiers of mexico. we will consider that a firearm. is not much difference when you get hit in the face with a rock. as you know, it was very violent a few days ago. it was a break in. they broke into mexico. look at what is happening in the guatemala along with el salvador es, it is disgraceful the countries cannot stop this they should be able to stop it before it starts. the united states pays them a fortune and we are looking at not doing that anymore. why should we be doing that when they do nothing for us? tohow is this plan going [indiscernible] is legal.

this is totally legal. we are stopping people at the border. this is an invasion. >> [indiscernible] president trump: you don't have to release. you can hold. you need massive facilities. countries say sorry, you cannot come in. with us, we take their names, phone numbers and say good luck because we do not have the facilities to hold people. we are building the facility is now, massive numbers of tents and we will hold them intense. >> you don't have to release them. >> we didn't have the facilities to hold them [indiscernible] president trump: we will be doing an executive order next week. >> [indiscernible] we are going to be talking about everything and it will be quite comprehensive. speakingrify, you are

of in a tent, a family unit -- president trump: we are holding so many facilities, so many people that are facilities are overrun. they are being overrun. we are putting up temporary facilities. people will not be coming here anymore when they realize they cannot get their. -- through. we are holding the families and children together. president obama separated children from families. all i did was take the same law and i suffered the law. by softening the law, many people came up he would not have,. who would not have. it is nothing political about a caravan of thousands of people and others forming pouring up into our country. we have no idea who they are. they are pretty tough people

when they can blast through the mexican military and mexican police. even mexico said these are tough people. i do not want them in our country. women do not want them in our country. women want security. men do want want them. women want security. look at what the women are looking for, security. they do not want these people in our country and they are not going to be in our country. when you talk about [indiscernible] president trump: people are going to have a chance to go for asylum. if you look at the records, not many people are allowed to state when they go to court. -- theye using asylum were told what to say by lawyers and others. you read the statement and now you are seeking asylum. the whole thing is ridiculous. we will not put up with it.

national law says people who have -- have the right to seek asylum. president trump: they are going to go to court as crazy as it sounds. excuse me. they are going to go to court and a judge is going to determine. usually when they go to court, they are deported. most of the people are deported. the problem is, they do not go to court because when they come in, they are told to come back in the year for a case and they disappear into the u.s. never to be seen again. they are given deportation notices. we will be supporting those people. >> [indiscernible] president trump: we will consider that. the maximum we can consider that because they are throwing rocks viciously and violently. you saw that three days ago.

really hurting the military. we will not put up with that. if they want to their rocks at our military, our military will fight back. i told them to consider it a rifle. when they threw rocks like they did at the mexican military and police, considerate a rifle. >> [indiscernible] president trump: she is under very serious consideration. she is excellent. she has been with us for a long time. -- we under very serious will make a decision next week. a lot of people want the job and there are really great people. we will talk about the next week. >> [indiscernible] >> she was campaigning in georgia -- [indiscernible] at the same time vice president pence was encouraging people to vote. president trump: that was the last week of her show. opera like me very much and i have always liked opera.

the woman she is supporting is not qualified to be the governor of georgia to any stretch of the imagination. i will be in georgia in the next few days and we have a -- around round macon macon, we have a tremendous crowd already. nobody has a crowd like we have because everybody wants to see a great governor in georgia. greatis going to be a governor, a fantastic governor. she is not qualified to be governor. georgia is a great state, great great state. take a look at her past, history, what she wants to do and what she has in mind. the state will be in big trouble quickly. the people of georgia do not want that. can we have an update on election integrity? president trump: i just met with the fbi and the doj and with

secretary nielsen and they have spent a lot of time, effort, and money on making sure everything, with respect to the election is going in five days, to be perfect and safe. be hopefully no meddling, tampering, nothing. president obama had the chance to do that in september before 16 but he chose not to because he thought hillary was going to win. well everybody agrees that did not affect the vote, nevertheless, he could have done things that would have made it more obvious are clear. he was told by the fbi in september before the election in 16 about potential meddling or potential russian meddling and he did nothing about it. he thought hillary would win. >> [indiscernible]

president trump: i think we are going to do very well and the election, i must tell you. if you look at the races, the senate, which is very important. i will be in missouri. i will be touching down in a number of places. i think we are doing very well in the senate. we are doing very well in the house. the problem with the house is it is so many people. i would like to stop for every one of them. we are doing very well in the house. people want to see strong borders, security, good health care, the things we are providing. they do not want taxes increase. yesterday,ounced kevin brady put it out, a reduction of tax. a reduction of middle income tax of 10%.

-- double at the taxes. you would have to pay three times what you are paying now to get better health care. what we are doing is something i think the people want and i think we will do well in the election, even though history says whoever the president may be, it turns the other way. it seems that way. nobody has been president who has the greatest economy and the history of our country. this is the greatest economy in the history of our country. these are the greatest unemployment and employment numbers. that to campaign with. thank you all very much. i appreciate it. >> [indiscernible] closing] president trump mentioning he

is heading to columbia, missouri , one of the nine stops he will make between now and the election day. we will have live coverage of tonight's event at 7:30 eastern on c-span two and more debates ahead at 7:00 eastern tonight, eight debate between joe manchin and republican challenger patrick morrissey in west virginia. at 8:00 tonight, claudia tenney faces her opponent anthony for a debate in new york 22nd congressional district. both events are live tonight. president barack obama is campaigning in florida at a rally in miami for senator bill nelson and the democratic candidate for governor, andrew gillum. coverage tomorrow is that 2:30 eastern. with five days until the election, c-span is your primary source. our